Discovering Capabilities
by The Avid Musician
Summary: A new mutant comes to Xavier's. Who is she? What are her level 4 powers? What happens when she loses control? Logan/OC
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: not mine._

**Chapter One**_  
_

A young woman named Sylvana strode through the woods of upstate New York. Here, she was not likely to encounter anyone, which was beyond merely good. This way, no one would shun her or discriminate against her. Why would anyone do that, you may ask. Sylvana was a mutant.

Sylvana looked up at the sun-kissed leaves overhead. She smiled and walked on.

However, she stropped abruptly a little farther on. She sensed people, maybe a hundred in all. Granted, they were not close by, but she referred not to meet them.

But wait…these people felt different. They were mutants! And one of them was different from the rest of them. He had mental powers rather than physical.

"_Hello,"_ a voice said suddenly in her mind.

"_Who are you_?" she asked immediately.

"_My name is Professor Charles Xavier,"_ he said. His voice in her mind was almost soothing.

"_You run a mutant school,"_ she said bluntly.

"_Have you heard of it?"_ he asked, surprised.

"_No. You call yourself a Professor, and there is a large mass of mutants near you,"_ she explained.

"_You are a mutant, also,"_ he said bluntly, reminding her of the fact.

"_Yes,"_ she said, hoping he would not shun her as well.

"_You may stay here, if you wish,"_ he said gently.

"_I would not wish to impose,"_ she said quietly.

"_It is fine. There is plenty of room here should you wish to stay,"_ he said.

"_I would like to see your facility first,"_ she said.

"_Alright,"_ he answered, "_Would you like me to send someone for you?"_

_ "No,"_ she said, "_I have ESP."_

_ "As you wish,"_ he returned. She could feel him leave her mind after saying that.

Sylvana turned and strode purposefully inj her new direction, content to walk the three miles to the school.

oooooooo

Back at the Institute, a mutant with a visor covering his eyes sat grading papers from one of his classes. His name was Scott, a.k.a. Cyclops.

Quite suddenly, the Professor spoke in his mind saying, "_Scott, a woman will be arriving within an hour. Please bring her to my office."_ Just as suddenly, he could tell the Professor had left his mind.

Sure enough, fifty minutes later a young woman, no more than 22 years old, walked up to the gate of the Instutute. Scott stood from where he had been sitting against the wall.

Without seeing or hearing him, she said, "Hello. I assume the Professor sent you."

He shook off his uneasiness that she could sense him and said, "Yes. My name is Scott. I'm a teacher here."

"There's something different about you," she said, turning to look at him with narrowed eyes.

This was the first good look Scott got of her. Her long, dark, auburn hair was braided. Her eyes were a piercing purple, unlike anything he had ever seen. Her skin was smooth and pure white, paler than even a corpse. She was very slender and shorter than he had realized. She could not be more than five feet tall. Her fingers were short but slender, and her ears tapered to slight points. Overall, she was the oddest yet most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

He did not realize that several seconds had passed until she said, "You know how to fight. You often do. You shoot lasers out of your eyes, but you have no control over it, hence the visor. You're more than just a teacher here. People look up to you…You recently lost someone you care about, no…love."

Scott shook off the sadness of thinking about Jean. "Are you telepathic?" he asked her.

"No. I am simply good at reading people," she said, turning toward the gate.

Scott was now thoroughly disconcerted. However, he opened the gate and led her inside.

"Why do you have purple eyes?" he blurted suddenly.

She turned to look at him for a second, divining his purpose in asking the question. Slowly, she answered, "I have lived among humans for much of my life. I wear blue contacts so that I stick out less."

"Why blue contacts?" he continued, not sure what she meant.

"My eyes are red," she said bluntly.

"No one will hold that against you here," Scott said reassuringly, patting her arm for a second.

Scott stopped outside a door, the door to Xavier's office, and let her go inside alone.

Sylvana turned as she walked into the office. A bald man in his forties or fifties sat behind the desk in a wheelchair. Her face showed no surprise, for she would not discriminate against someone like she had been.

"Professor Xavier?" she asked.

The man looked up and smiled when he saw her. "Yes, my dear, and what is your name?"

"Sylvana Mezzanotte," she answered.

"Pleased to meet you, Sylvana. Please, sit," he said kindly.

She sat in the chair across from him before saying, "So this is your school."

"Yes…Forgive me for asking, but how far are you in your schooling?"

"I was kicked out from my second year at Harvard because I was a mutant," she said bitterly. A bad taste came into her mouth with that memory.

"What did you study?" he asked, very curious.

"Music," she said promptly.

"What instrument?" he asked.

"I can play piano, violin, trumpet, clarinet, flute, oboe, cello, organ, vocal, viola, trombone, and tuba," she said, ticking them off on her fingers as she listed them.

"That is quite impressive," he said honestly, stunned that she could play so many instruments.

She smiled sadly and said, "Thank you." She closed her eyes for a second before opening them to look straight at the professor. "All of my instruments are still on hold in the Music Department back at Harvard," she said.

"I'll have them shipped here," he said, seriously hoping she decided to stay. _Perhaps this gesture of good will can convince her._

"You don't have to do that," she said quickly, not wanting to be a nuisance.

"It isn't a problem, Sylvana. You'll find we have more than enough resources for a simple thing such as this," the Professor answered her.

"Alright," she said softly, "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Sylvana. Ororo will show you where you can stay," the Professor said just before the door opened and a white-haired woman walked in.

The woman smiled at the newcomer and said kindly, "Hello. My name is Ororo, but most people call me Storm."

"My name is Sylvana," she answered.

"Follow me," she said, walking out of the office.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Logan walked down the hall of the Institute. The moon shone through the windows, lighting his way. No one else was ever up at this time, which was why he liked it.

However, as he walked he heard a sound. He stopped short and listened. Someone was playing a sad, mournful song on a violin. It was so painfully beautiful that many people could easily have cried, but not Logan.

Curious, he began to walk toward the violist. A minute later, Logan stood outside the room the sound was coming from. He poked his head into the room.

Inside with her back turned, a girl…no, young woman stood. Her hair fell down her back, moving slightly as her arm moved back and forth. Her other arm held up the violin which she played. Her music was unlike anything he had ever heard before.

All too soon it came to an end. She gently set her violin down on top of an organ and sat on the bench in front of said instrument. She placed her fingers on the keys and began to play. The song was fast paced and minor. It was scary to hear such a dark, forbidding tune coming from someone so young.

The song ended and she stood once again. She walked to the piano and sat there. When she began to play and sing, her song was full of sadness and mourning once again. It was the beauty of one who expects die and only wishes a last moment of beauty. Her voice was unlike anything he had ever heard, and it was heavily laden with emotion. It ended in a single, pure note, simply the epitome of sadness. The note was suddenly cut off as the young woman sobbed harshly, bending forward over the instrument to cry.

Hesitantly, Logan walked forward toward the young woman. Once he was within arm's length of her, he reached his arm out and gently placed his hand on her shoulder. Immediately, she whipped around. Before he could react, her hand was wrapped around his throat as her _red _eyes bored into his.

"Easy there, Fairy," he said, taking hold of her wrist.

"Who are you?" she demanded seriously.

"Who are you?" he countered, pulling her hand away from his throat.

"Sylvana," she said tersely, still watching him carefully with those beautiful, fierce, _red _eyes.

"Logan," he responded in kind.

Both of them stared at each other in silence for a few seconds before simultaneously asking, "What are you doing here?"

They each stopped speaking again to watch each other, studying each other carefully.

"The Professor had my instruments shipped here," she said just before he was going to speak again.

Logan watched her again for some time before saying, "I heard you playing."

She tensed slightly and shifted her weight to the other foot. She was nervous. "And?" she asked hesitantly and very uncomfortably.

"You miss someone," he said, his tone softening somewhat.

Sylvana snorted again and said, "I wish it were that simple." She wiped her eyes before studying him for a second. "You recently lost someone…the same person as Scott…Your nature is to fight…So you're the teacher for the Danger Room! You must enjoy the chance to work out your aggression…Oh, but you're angry at someone. It forces you to fight, or you'll go mad…You've lost your memory!"

"How did you know that? Are you a telepath?" he demanded, grabbing one of her arms roughly.

"No. You have grief written all over you face," she said bluntly.

"What _can_ you do?" he asked, watching her closely.

"I can sense people with my mind and take the energy from their mind as well," she said.

"Right," he said sarcastically, "So _that_ is why you were so surprised to see me."

"Go touch that wall," she said bluntly, pointing to the far wall. Without a word, Logan walked over and touched the wall.

He turned back toward her and said, "I can't see you."

"But I can see you. Your body temperature is a degree above normal," she said bluntly.

"Okay. I believe you," he said, walking back over to her.

Quite suddenly, Sylvana stood and walked out of the room. Logan quickly followed, but she said without looking back, "Do not follow me, or I will drain all of your energy."

And it was so.

ooooooo

The very next day, Sylvana woke late in the morning to a knock on her door. She answered to door to find a large man whose body was covered in blue fur standing there purposefully. "The professor wants to see you," he said.

Sylvana nodded and gestured for him to lead the way.

The man turned to look at her and said, "By the way, my name's Henry, or Beast if you prefer. I help at the medlab."

"It's nice to meet you, Henry. My name is Sylvana. According to Logan, my codename is now Fairy, but that's still debateable," she said with a smile.

"That sounds like him," Henry agreed, chuckling.

A minute later, they reached the Professor's office. When they were there, Henry said, "Well, here we are. I need to get going, but it was nice to meet you, Sylvana."

Sylvana smiled and said, "And you as well, Henry."

She turned back to the door and entered. As soon as she was in the room, the Professor asked, "Do you have control of your powers?"

"I can control my ESP and infravision, but not my energy draining," she said truthfully.

"That is a dangerous power to not have control of," the professor observed.

"That is why I keep music in my life: to keep me calm and focused," she said, smiling slightly.

"Yes, well, would you like to train to gain better control over your powers?" he asked, studying her face for a reaction.

Almost instantly, her face became fearful. "The last time I used that power, I almost killed someone," she said, terror colouring her voice.

"It will be fine. One of the teachers here, Logan, can heal himself. You can practice with him until you are ready for other people," the professor suggested.

"Well…I guess that could work," she said hesitantly. She was quite leery of using her powers.

"Great. I'll have Ororo show you to him once classes are over," he began.

"I've already met him," she interrupted quickly.

"I see…you can start training with him tomorrow at 9 o'clock in the Danger Room," the professor said.

"Thank you, Professor," she said gratefully, smiling as she stood and walked out of the room.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Sylvana walked to the Danger Room the next morning. As she approached, she sensed Logan waiting in front of the door and several people inside.

Once he saw her, he said, "Hi, Fairy. Let's see how good your senses are."

"Alright," she said hesitantly.

"I have ten students hiding in that room. Where are they?"

She quickly named them within a foot of their position. "Okay. You've mastered that. I've seen your whole heat vision power, so how about energy draining?"

Lorana noticed that as soon as he mentioned that power to her, she became fearful. Her breathing quickened slightly, her hands balled into fists, and her muscles tensed. "There's nothing to worry about," he said, patting her shoulder once.

"Now, first thing's first. How do you drain the energy?"

"I can sense their mind. I just take the energy from their mind," she explaioned.

"There's nothing to worry about, then," he said reassuringly.

"Actually, when I take energy from a mutant, it comes directly from their power. I actually shut off their power once I have enough energy from them," she said guiltily.

"Don't focus on that. Come on and stun me," Logan said.

Obediently, Sylvana opened her mind to his. A second later, the man was laying on the ground, totally unconscious.

"Oh, no! Oh no. Oh no…" she repeated to herself, quickly kneeling by his side.

Several minutes later, Logan woke abruptly. He stood a little bit too quickly and had to lean against the wall until the dizziness passed.

As soon as he could see again, he looked for Sylvana. She sat against the opposite wall. Her knees were drawn into her chest and her hands clutched her head. Her physiognomy betrayed her agony, even though she uttered not a sound.

"Fairy? Fairy?" he asked, walking over to squat beside her.

She looked up at him with her brilliantly red eyes. She was crying.

"Don't cry, Fairy. I'm still alive. You didn't kill me. Just don't concentrate quite so much," he said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. He was quite clearly not used to this sort of thing.

"But I could have…so easily," she said. Her voice was very unsteady and wavering.

"Well, you didn't killed me, so don't worry about it. You can try again tomorrow," he said encouragingly, or as encouragingly as he could.

"Alright," she choked out, wiping the tears from her face. She tried to get up, but her legs collapsed under her. When she hit the ground, her control failed. Her brain sent out a shockwave that sucked the energy out of everyone within a mile radius. They were all unconscious, including both her and Logan.

oooooooo

Sylvana woke first of all of the people. She looked around her and saw that Logan was unconscious.

Scared out of her mind, she ran to the other areas of the school. In each, everyone was unconscious, sprawled in whatever position they had landed. She ran to her music room and grabbed her Stradivarius violin, the most precious of all her instruments. She ran from the Institute. _They won't let me stay after this._

She ran to the train station, eager to get away from there.

ooooooooo

Logan woke with a sharp, stabbing pain in his head. Slowly, he sat up and opened his eyes. The med lab.

He heard Scott and the Professor talking outside. He could hear Scott saying, "No one can find her anywhere. I think she caused this."

"We can' leave her out there. She's too dangerous and unstable to be out on er own. She needs to stay here for training," the Professor said. _Who are they talking about? Who could have…Fairy! She's gone?...train station…she'll try to run._

With that though in mind, Logan hopped down from the medical table and ran for the door. He burst through the door, surprising both Scott and the Professor. "Where are you going?" Scott yelled.

Logan did not answer. He kept running all the way to the garage where he took Scott's motorcycle and rode off to the train station.

oooooooooooo

Sylvana looked at the list of departures at the train station. Her eyes roved over the list, puzzling where she would go. _Philadelphia, no…D.C., no…Boston, n- Yes!...What if this is a misunderstanding?...Boston-Logan Airport…If it's a misunderstanding, Logan will find me…but where should I go?...France…Germany…Britain…Italy!..Oh please let this be a misunderstanding!_

Quickly, she found her train and sat in her seat. She bundled herself up in her jacket and fell asleep with her hood covering her face. _Soon, I will be safe, be it the Institute or Rome._


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Logan ran into the train station, ignoring the odd looks everyone was giving him. He looked up at the departure board, searching for somewhere Fairy would want to go.

_Where would she go? D.C.? Philadelphia? Boston? Boston-Logan Airport! She's going back to Italy!_

With this new destination in mind, he started to run. _Track six. Track six. Where is it?...There!_

The train was leaving the station. _Too late? NO!_ _When does the next train leave?_

"All aboard for Boston!" a conductor yelled. Logan took off at a dead sprint for the train. He made it just in time to jump on board the train.

"I'm sorry, Sir. You need a ticket," one of the employees said to him.

"Like hell I do," Logan said angrily, shoving his way to the passenger seats. He grabbed a man from the nearest seat and shoved him away before sitting himself down in the seat. He looked over to the person sitting next to him, smiled sardonically, and said awkwardly, "Hi."

ooooooo

As Logan stepped out into the airport, he saw a blur of purple walk in front of him, toward the check in counter. Looking closer, he noticed that the person's hair was a luminous yet dark auburn. He took off running toward the figure in the purple jacket.

Sensing his quick, following movement, the figure began to run. Logan was still gaining on them.

Both people ran flat out, though only one could be successful. The person in the purple jacket weaved expertly through the crowd while Logan bumped into many people, which slowed him down.

Finally, Logan reached out and caught the person's jacket. They merely swung their arms behind them and let the jacket slide off. It was Fairy!

"Fairy! Wait!" Logan called.

Sylvana looked back only long enough to recognize Logan. Suddenly, Logan began to feel weak. His limbs grew heavy and his pace slowed. Finally, he fell, barely able to reach the chairs as he did so. She would get away, and she would disappear.

After what seemed like hours, Logan began to regain his energy. As soon as he was able, he raised his head and looked around. She was gone.

Frustrated and angry in the extreme, Logan returned to the train station and took an agonizingly slow train ride back to get to the train station, or at least it seemed slow to Logan.

ooooooooo

Logan slammed shut the door of the car and stormed into the mansion. He went straight to Xavier's office, not even bothering to knock as he barged in and attempted not to slam the door behind him. He plopped himself down in a chair and huffed angrily.

"Logan?" the Professor's calm voice asked from behind the desk.

Logan raised his head to look, not glare, at Xavier. That one look was filled with frustration and anger, but also sorrow and loss. The Professor could see all of it, and he knew why.

"She left," Logan said bluntly, looking down at his hands. His voice was gruff, as his emotions were still far from under control.

"Do you know where she went?" Xavier asked. His voice was calm and collected, betraying none of the urgency he felt to remove a mutant as dangerous as her from the public.

"She took a train to Boston. She's flying somewhere," Logan said darkly.

"Logan, before Sylvana went to Harvard, she lived in Rome," Xavier said.

Logan looked up and asked pointedly, "How do you know?"

"She told me," the Professor said.

"I need to get to Rome, then," Logan said, standing up abruptly.

"Logan, wait," Xavier said forcefully. The door clicked. It was now locked.

Logan turned to face the Professor and asked, "What?"

"Let me use Cerebro to find her," Xavier said, wheeling his wheel chair around his desk and toward the door.

Logan's eyes brightened considerably. "Well, let's go, then," he said, his former frustration gone in light of a new way to find her.


	5. Chapter 5

_Sorry about the delay!_

**Chapter Five**

Logan followed Xavier through the lower hallways of the school to the vault-like door to Cerebro. The Professor quickly scanned his retina, which allowed them entrance to the device.

The two walked forward to the consol, and the Professor put on the helmet to control Cerebro. The huge machine turned on and began to show bright red and white lights all over. Each represented mutants and humans respectively.

The Professor focused on Sylvana. All of the white lights disappeared even as they watched. Most of the red lights disappeared as well. All that were left, were in Italy. He focused more, but suddenly he began to feel weak. All of the lights disappeared and Xavier slumped in his wheel chair.

"No! You almost found her!" Logan exclaimed, still watching where the lights had been. After a second, he looked down and saw that Xavier was unconscious.

Quickly, he set down the helmet and wheeled the Professor out of Cerebro, to the med lab.

ooooooooooooo

"Furball!" Logan exclaimed upon entering the med lab.

"What happened now, Logan?" the large, blue man asked, turning to face him. His eyes widened in alarm at the sight that met his eyes.

"Something happened while he was using Cerebro," he said, helping him hoist the Professor up to a medical table.

"Who was he locating?" Hank (Henry) asked.

"Sylvana," Logan said.

"She must have drained his energy so that he wouldn't find him," Henry observed.

"He said she used to live in Rome, and the last thing I saw was that she was somewhere in Italy," Logan said, now thinking out loud.

"I would suggest talking with Ororo. Convince her to fly you there in the _Blackbird_," the blue man said while hooking up Xavier with some wires to monitor heart rate, etc.

ooooooooooooo

Logan was not a patient man at this point. He ran to the elevator, and a bit though the mansion to find Storm. He found her after a few minutes in a hallway.

"Storm!" he called.

"What is it Logan?" she asked, turning to look at him. She could sense the urgency in his voice.

"I need you to fly me to Rome. Sylvana's there," he said.

"Only if you take Scott with you," she said.

"Fine, now can we go?" he said.

oooooooooooo

Within hours, Logan, Scott, and Ororo were landed in the fields on the outskirts of Rome. Logan hurried out nearly the second the landing ramp was lowered. He looked around to gain his bearings. Seconds later, he spotted Rome on the horizon. He nearly started running that instant, but Scott came running off the plane and yelled, "Wait, Logan!"

Logan turned back and asked, "What for?"

"Logan! Don't ditch Scott! If you do, I'm flying back here and taking you back to Xavier's," Storm warned.

"Let's go, then," Logan said.

"Good luck," Storm said sincerely as they began to walk.

"I think I'll need it. He seems more irritable than usual," Scott said to her before hurrying after Logan.

ooooooooo

When they were roughly half way to Rome, Scott thought of something that would affect the outcome of this whole escapade. "How are we going to find Sylvana?" he asked.

"We look for her," Logan said bluntly.

"Logan, Rome is a large city. We can't just randomly start searching for her. We'll never find her if we do," Scott said, ever and always the strategist.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Logan asked.

"Start with the major tourism spots and work our way out from there," Scott said.

"She's lived here practically her whole life. She's seen everything here," Logan said.

"Then, we'll ask people around the city if they've seen her," Scott said, going to Plan B.

"You've never asked an Italian for help, have you?" Logan said.

"Split the city into sections and search them," Scott said, naming off his next idea.

"Go for it. I'll be going where the locals go," Logan said, speeding up.

"Well, where do they go?" Scott asked. It was never more obvious than now that Scott knew nothing of Rome.

"_Campo dei Fiori,"_ Logan said, sounding very much like a local.

"Great. Sit around there while I look," Scott said.

"Do you even speak Italian?" Logan asked.

"No," Scott said, freely admitting the fact.

"Let me handle the hotel, then. They'll charge you extra as an American," Logan said.


	6. Chapter 6

_I'm sorry it took so long! I had writer's block for this part._

**Chapter Six**

Once they were within the city, Logan began to lead the way through the busy streets. Clearly, he had been to Rome before, else he would be as wide-eyed as Scott seemed to be at the bustling streets full of brown haired, olive skinned people speaking in a very unfamiliar, though melodious and rhythmic, language.

Logan led the way deep into the heart of the city to the historic part. Ancient churches seemed to dot every block as they continued. While Scott was utterly and hopelessly lost, Logan walked straight into a somewhat normal-looking building that bore the sign: _Albergo._

Inside, there was a dimly lit bar with average, somewhat dingy bar stools that could have been anywhere in the USA rather than across the ocean in the heart of an ancient city. A middle-aged, scary-looking man stood behind the bar, wiping off a shot glass with a greasy-looking rag. The sight was hardly encouraging. This same man looked up as the two men entered the bar.

"_Bar's closed until seven_," he said simply in Italian.

"_We're not here to drink, Di Chigi_," Logan said in return.

"Wolverine?" That you? My God, it's been years! America's been treating you well!" the man, apparently named Di Chigi, exclaimed, hurrying over to them and shaking Logan's hand vigourously.

"My friend and I need a place to stay. Is that upstairs room still open?" Logan asked.

"You know I'll always have a place for you to stay, my friend. And don't you dare think otherwise! And to the room, I haven't had the heart to fill it since Maria died. You remember the way, don't you?" Di Chigi asked, quickly recovering his mood to be surprisingly happy. As he spoke, he waved the rag he held toward a previously unnoticed flight of stairs. Just like the rest of the place, they were dingy and rather unkempt.

"Thanks," Logan said bluntly, striding across the bar to the staircase. Scott followed quickly, trying not to touch anything for fear of getting dirty. After all, he was bit of a 'pretty boy'.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Scott asked, "What are you going to do if we find her?"

"When," Logan corrected gruffly. He seemed quite adamant upon that fact.

"Alright, _when_ we find her," Scott said.

"Do you know what you'd do?" Logan asked sceptically.

"Yes, actually. I'm going to hug her. I should have so many times. She always seemed so sad," Scott said, ever and always the man with the plan.

"Always? She was here for just under a day, and since when did you ever talk to her?" Logan grumbled.

"When she first arrived, she told me about how she wore blue contacts to hide her eyes," Scott said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"That's not much of a conversation," Logan pointed out.

"Well, when did you talk to her if you're so sure of yourself?" Scott asked.

This query hardly put Logan off. After a second, Logan admitted, "That night after we flew her stuff in from Harvard."

"Since when does the Professor use the _Blackbird_ for anything like that?" Scott asked. Now he was the sceptical one.

"She needs to be at the school, but that was the only way he could convince her to stay," Logan said with a shrug.

Scott frowned and asked, "What level are her powers?"

"Level 4." _But Chuck said she has another power, one that might make her Level 5._

"Ah. Anyway, should we start searching today or tomorrow?"

"Today," Logan said, turning and walking back down the stairs to leave.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

Day one:

There was no sign of Sylvana.

Both men went out early in the morning and stayed out looking for her all day on the crowded streets. After the first hour, Logan explained to Scott that she was a native of Rome and so would _not _be at the major tourist attractions. She would far more likely go to _Campo dei Fiori_. He knew from his previous time there that most natives got their fresh ingredients for their fresh, homemade, traditional foods there. By that same logic, Sylvana was quite likely to be there.

They, or more specifically Logan, bought cheap food from vendors on the streets and walked around the city, asking people if they had seen a beautiful, short woman with red eyes. Scott generally just wandered the city all day, apparently hoping he would find her. As to that, Logan was still surprised that the brilliant master planner had no plan in this matter.

oooooooooooooo

Day two:

There was only the same result as day one. They saw neither hide nor tail of Sylvana.

ooooooooooo

Day Three:

It appeared to be the exact same as the preceding two, until Logan heard something. It was faint, but it sounded almost like a...violin? He continued to walk, listening intently. The sound got louder.

Frowning, he asked Scott, "You hear that?"

"Hear what?" Obviously not.

"Music," Logan said bluntly.

"No."

The sound was steadily growing louder. Soon, there dynamics had changed suitably that Scott could hear it as well. "I hear it!"

Logan did not answer. His eyes scanned the crowded streets, especially the sides. Poor musicians most often played there for change.

The closer they got to the unseen violinist, the more they were both struck by how skilled the musician was. That left no doubt in either of their minds that it was Sylvana. It just had to be. No one could play like she could, so precisely, so emotionally. But where was she?

Suddenly, Scott yelled out, "Sylvana!" Simultaneously, he took off running toward a street corner.

Logan looked over at the street corner and saw a quickly retreating auburn-haired, short woman with a violin, bow, and case in hand. It was her! "Idiot," he said under his breath to Scott before taking off at a sprint.

Seconds later, Scott reached the street corner, but Sylvana was nowhere in sight. Logan soon ran up and asked, "Why did you do that?"

"Do what?" Scott asked, completely clueless.

"Why did you yell? Did you stop to think that she would run the second she saw us?" Logan asked.

"...Oh..." Scott said after a second. He hadn't realized that she would run from them.

"Damn it!" Logan exclaimed angrily, causing many people to look at him strangely.


	8. Chapter 8

_I'm sorry it's taken this long to update. I've been very busy. Anyway, here's the chapter!_

**Chapter Eight**

A week later, there was still no sign of Sylvana. Recently, Scott had taken to not staying out as long looking for Sylvana. It was rather easy for Logan to see: he was giving up. Then again, who could blame him? They had not seen her since that day a week ago, and the Professor couldn't locate her with Cerebro. All she let him see was that she was still in Rome. Beyond that, her mental block was strong. At this point, the only reason why Scott hadn't completely given up was that they still knew she was in Rome.

Logan, on the other hand, had lost none of his zeal. If anything, he stayed out later into the night, always searching for her. He had gotten more and more irritable with each passing day that he couldn't find her. Last night, he hadn't even come back to the room. He just stayed out all night, walking around and hoping he'd see her.

He had, in fact, spotted her that very evening. He had been sitting by the Fountain of the Three Rivers when he'd seen her on the other side of _Piazza Navona_. She had a small bag in her hand.

Surreptitiously, Logan stood and walked quickly toward her, staying out of her sight as much as possible. Despite that, she saw him. Instantly, she had dropped the bag and took off running for the street. Before he could catch her, she had disappeared into the crowd. Again.

Sighing, Logan walked over to her bag. In curiosity, he looked at its contents and found bread, tomatoes, and basil. As unlikely as it seemed, that offered Logan new hope. She would go to _Campo dei Fiori _tomorrow, and they could catch her.

That encounter was why this day was pivotal in their search. On this day, Sylvana would either flee the country or go back with them. The question was: which course would she take?

oooooooooo

The following morning, Logan woke early. He did not even stop to think about food, Scott, or anything but getting to _Campo dei Fiori_. Just as the sun was rising, he arrived. He sat himself down in a secluded corner and waited.

Hours passed, but there was no sign of Sylvana. He would not give up. His eyes scanned the crowd over and over again, looking for her tell-tall red eyes, or sallow skin, or either auburn or white hair, depending upon if she was hiding or not. No matter how long it took, he _would _find her.

Noon passed and still she was not here. Logan's stomach was growling, but he refused to let that distract him. He watched and waited.

Finally, it came to be afternoon. This was the busiest part of the day. Throngs of people milled about, going from stall to stall to purchase all of the foodstuffs they might require.

He had almost given up hope that he would find her amidst the crowds, but then he saw something. It looked like the glint of a red eye. Quickly, Logan bolted to his feet and scanned the crowd even more carefully. As he watched, he saw a glimpse of purple fabric. Instantly, Logan began to push his way through the crowd toward that purple fabric.

There she was!

Logan took off at a sprint for her, reaching her in seconds and most certainly before she could react. He grabbed her arm, holding on tightly, and said more sincerely than anything he had ever said before, "Don't run, Fairy."

"Why not?" came her cruel reply.

"We miss you. We want you back," he said.

"No one misses me. No one ever has or will. And the 'we' you are talking about, they are no more than a bunch of power hungry mutants. All they want is my skills. All _you_ want is my skills. Let me go," she said venomously.

"That's not true, Sylvana. You know it isn't," he insisted.

Her eyes flashed to meet his, narrowing either in anger or confusion. "Why are you calling me that?"

Logan's brow furrowed. Now, it was his turn to be confused. "What do you mean?"

"Why are you calling me Sylvana?" she repeated.

"Because that's your name," Logan said hesitantly.

"But, after what happened..." she said, trying to solve some quandary in her head.

"What happened doesn't matter. Things like that happen to most of us when we're still learning. We can help you," he said, trying desperately to convince her.

"...Very well..." she said after a pregnant pause.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

Instead of going straight back to the room, Logan and Sylvana walked slowly to Piazza Navona. It seemed as though there was never a moment of silence between them. Of course, each of them had their reasons for their talkativeness, and it certainly showed. Each of them just wanted to know more about the other now that she was this time definitely staying at Xavier's.

"Why'd you run?" Logan asked right away.

"I didn't think the Professor would have let me stay after…" Sylvana looked down at her own hands, ashamed of what she had done.

"Are you saying that the Professor would just allow me back, no looking at me differently?" she asked, not believing this.

"Yeah," he said bluntly.

She looked down at the pavement again as she thought of what she would do. Logan saw this new discomfort intensify as she began to bite her lower lip.

Gently, Logan put a hand on her arm. The moment his skin met hers, there was something akin to a mental explosion between the two.

Sylvana's eyes widened alarmingly and dilated before she collapsed in a heap on the ground.

Logan felt her mind swarm into his, completely taking it over. A second later, her mind was gone. At the same time, his energy was sapped from his body and he collapsed to the ground, though he retained his senses.

Seconds later, he opened his eyes to look at Sylvana. Her hair was sprawled across her face, and her limbs were far from orderly. Carefully, Logan smoothed the hair out of her face.

When he did that her eyes snapped open. She stared at him for a second in awe before whispering, "You really are good people."

_What the hell happened?_

"I read your mind, not just the surface. I saw everything," she said, still staring at him.

"How?" he asked bluntly.

"We must ask the professor. He will know," she said confidently.

ooooooooooooo

As soon as Scott saw Sylvana, he said, "Oh thank goodness." Next, he reached into his pocket and pulling out his communicator. He pressed a button and spoke into it, "Storm, we found Sylvana. We'll meet you on the north end."

Logan caught her eye and smirked. Sylvana smiled in return and the two of them began to walk out of the room. After all, neither of them had any baggage.

A moment later, Scott put his communicator away and looked up. When he saw them walking away, he hurried over and fell in step on the other side of Sylvana.

As they continued to walk to the northern end of Rome, Logan tried to take her tiny hand in his large one. However, she pulled her hand away. When he gave her a puzzled glance, she smiled apologetically and said, "I'd rather not risk collapsing again."

Logan nodded in understanding, though he didn't like it. Instead, he took hold of her arm where her jacket covered her skin. _It's just not the same._

Carefully, he and Scott led the newly telepathic woman out of Rome oh so slowly. However, Scott asked before they had gone too far, "Do you need to get anything?"

"No. This was all I had," she said, shaking her head without looking at Scott.

When they reached the northern outskirts of Rome, they began to look for the _Blackbird._ They did not need to look long because it flew over their heads and landed in a field about a hundred yards from where they were.

The ramp lowered and two people walked. Sylvana could tell even from a distance that they were Storm and Henry. After all, white hair and blue fur are pretty unusual.

Those same two people smiled when they saw her. Henry, being the welcoming man he was, stepped forward and hugged her first. "You were missed," he said. He quite clearly meant it.

"And I missed all of you, even if I wouldn't admit it until a couple hours ago," Sylvana said in return. Her smile finally reappeared. It was radiant, as they all remembered.

Sylvana turned to Storm. The other woman smiled back and said, "Welcome back."


	10. Chapter 10

_I'm so sorry it took so long to update._

**Chapter Ten**

The group soon arrived at the school. Once inside, they went directly to the Professor's office, despite the fact that it was in the early hours of the morning when no one was likely to be awake.

Just before Sylvana could knock, Scott said worriedly, "What if he's asleep?"

"He isn't. He's sitting there, probably worrying," she returned confidently. ESP did have its benefits.

Soon after, the professor called from within, "Come in"

The three for them entered, though the professor only cared that _Sylvana_ was there. He smiled, completely relieved, and said, "Hello, Sylvana."

She smiled in return and said, "_Ciao, Professore."_ (Hello, Professor.)

"Are you staying, then?" he asked.

"Yes," she answered, nodding. "First, though, I need you to explain something. When he caught me, Logan touched my arm, but when he did, I could hear every thought he had ever had. I passed out from the sheer amount of information my brain was swarmed with."

"Your mind is developing, which means your powers are, too. Can you still read his thoughts?"

"No. I can't ready anyone's thoughts right now," she said with a slight shake of her head.

"Hmmm…Have you touched anyone's skin since then?"

"No. Do you want me to try?"

"Yes. Logan, if you would…" Xavier said, gesturing to Logan.

Hesitantly, Logan stepped forward and extended a hand toward Sylvana. Very hesitantly, she reached her hand out and touched his palm with the tip of her finger.

She froze instantly and all of her muscles locked. Just as suddenly, she collapsed. Logan reached on instinct. He ran forward to catch her before she hit the ground.

Once he had a firm hold on her, he looked down at her carefully. Her eyes were still open, but they were glazed over. Even as he watched, her eyes cleared and focused on him. After a few seconds, she whispered to him, "You can let me up now." Only then did he notice that they had been staring, and everyone in the room had been watching them.

"Did you see his thoughts again?" the Professor asked after a few seconds.

"Yes. The shock wasn't so bad this time, though" she answered softly and almost weakly.

"It seems that you've unlocked a new power: telepathy through skin contact," the Professor observed.

"Or perhaps it only works with Logan," Sylvana suggested with a shrug.

"Try with Scott and see," the Professor said, nudging her onwards metaphorically.

Obediently, Scott offered his hand as Logan had done, and just as with Logan, she touched his palm with the tip of her finger. Once again, her muscles locked completely before she went limp, though this time Logan was ready to catch her.

When her eyes did not glaze over, Logan asked quietly, "Are you okay?"

"Yes," she answered, stronger than last time. "I am becoming accustomed to the shock."

"Sylvana, are you well enough for one more experiment?" the Professor asked, not waiting to overexert her. It was almost as though the was treading the line, being careful and sensitive enough so that she did not run off again, losing her untrained powers on the world.

"Yes," she answered confidently.

"Touch one of their arms and see if the same thing happens," the Professor instructed, intrigued.

Hesitantly, Sylvana reached out her hand once more and touched Logan's forearm. Nothing happened.

"Interesting…It seems that it must not only be skin contact, but hand-to-hand contact as well," the Professor observed.

"That does make sense, though," Sylvana said, moving to sit in one of the chairs.

"How?" Logan asked bluntly, dropping into the chair beside hers.

"The hand is one of the most perceptive parts of the body," Sylvana said informatively.

"Indeed…Well, Sylvana, I would advise you to avoid touching anyone's hands. Wear gloves if you feel like it, but I don't think it'll be necessary. If you do this a bit more, you won't be affected by the shock of contact with someone else's mind," the Professor said.

"I will, _Professore,"_ Sylvana said with a smile and a nod.

Before she could stand, Storm asked, "Couldn't her ESP be from sensing thoughts?"

"What about that whole knock-out thing?" Logan asked.

"Does her ability to incapacity someone stem from the same ability?" Scott rephrased.

"Logan, what did it feel like when she knocked you out?" Xavier asked.

"It felt like someone was zapping my brain," he said bluntly.

"I feel like I take something from them when I knock them out," Sylvana added quietly.

"Interesting. It seems as though you can actually stop a person's thoughts. That would include stopping the thoughts from turning to nerve impulses. That's why they collapse," the professor explained.

"She can manipulate thoughts?" Henry asked dubiously.

"In that she can essentially shut off the conscious part of the brain, yes," Xavier said, looking straight at Sylvana.

"_Grazie, Professore,"_ (Thank you Professor) she said gravely and wistfully.

"No. Thank you, Sylvana, for coming back," the Professor said warmly, looking at her kindly.

Sylvana turned and walked to the door, following the rest of her group. Just before she walked out, she stopped and turned back to the professor. She smiled brightly at him before leaving, shutting the door behind her.


End file.
